John and Donna by Sandra Pinner
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John and Donna have been married for over fifty years. They always have been, and still are, soul mates - sharing a mutual love of the arts, particularly music, and a deep curiosity about the world around them and its various cultures.
When John realized and finally accepted the fact that he was gradually losing his life-partner, his frustrations, anger, fear, and anxiety, led him to write of their experiences. Regular quarterly, sometimes monthly, e-mail ‘updates’ provided a way to keep friends and relatives informed as well as offering him some release from the stresses they both faced as their world slowly closed in around them. Doctors seemed unable to tell him much about the progress of Donna’s condition so John decided that by summarizing those e-mails and chronologically presenting their experiences in his book - Donna's Story - he believed he might be able to assist others going through the same confusion and fear. I end with a quote from John: “Ultimately, some understanding and acceptance of Donna’s situation was the critical first step towards my peace of mind.” |
2016 
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2001
Photo: Courtesy of Wolfgang Knauer
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i have more to say about the
beautiful lady on my left This is Donna as she looked in 2001,
always happy and smiling. I think back to those days and reminisce, "At 57 years of age, Donna is at the peak of a her career as a dance and performing arts teacher. She is also the owner/operator of her new business, 'Footloose Dance Productions' I have just retired and have my first opportunity to work with her. Together, our world is an exciting place as 'Footloose' shows signs of growth and success. Her Footloose family is a happy family. Donna's creativity is being recognized in the theatrical community and, like me, her students are excited to share these times with her. These are very good years!" |
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1966 |
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Here she is again, in 1966, the year we were married.
Yep! I married both of them. I had to! Simply couldn't tell them apart. One calls herself 'Donna', the other is Jean. Or maybe they're both called 'Donna-Jean'. It's very hard for me to remember. The one on the left is Donna - no, Jean - no, Donna. You can see the problem I have. |
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July 12, 1966 And here we both are on our actual wedding day. You can tell it's our wedding day because Donna never wore that dress on any other occasion. Said she'd feel silly, wearing it to work. I dunno! I don't see the problem. She looks great. I guess I just don't understand women. |
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Here is another photo of Donna from a few years earlier. This is 1962 - the year after I met her. Donna is eighteen and is a member of the BC Lions cheerleaders. As well as cheering, Donna also taught those big, burly men some delicate dance moves, the purpose being to help the players to be a little more agile on their feet as they raced down the field for a touchdown - avoiding defencemen - particularly Ti-Cats. The Lions motto, chosen the year they were formed was, "THE LIONS ROAR IN '54". Well, the Lions didn't actually roar until 1964, when the Lions exacted their revenge on their rivals - the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. That year the match was held in Toronto. The year before, 1963, the Lions had their first chance at the Grey Cup, also against Hamilton. That game was held in Vancouver. Donna was in the parade and there for the game, cheering on Willie Fleming and our boys. What a night that was. Vancouver went wild - even wilder because the Lions lost. |
1962 
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1945
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Yes! Here she is again, or so she tells me. I don't remember her when she looked like this, with that curly brown hair. Wasn't she a cutie?
She's 13 months here, and smiling because Mom has just presented her with her first pair of tap shoes. I think she's staring up at Gene Kelly, or it could be Fred Astaire. They're teaching her how to do pull-backs, or maybe a grab-off. She's too young to tackle wings. |
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